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Brexit Spooks Tech Giants Away From London, Hibernia CEO Says

Brexit Spooks Tech Giants Away From London, Hibernia CEO Says

(Bloomberg) -- The U.K.’s plans to exit the European Union are steering technology companies away from London and toward Dublin, chief executive of one of Ireland’s biggest real estate firms said.

The Irish capital has benefited as a result of Brexit, but mainly from technology companies diverting investment rather than financial services firms moving out of the U.K,. Kevin Nowlan of Hibernia REIT said in an interview in Dublin on Thursday.

Technology companies are “very nervous” about freedom of movement and their ability to hire international workers in the U.K. after Brexit, Nowlan said. Ireland “ticks all the boxes.”

U.S. companies flooding into Ireland now employ, either directly or indirectly, about one in five workers in the country. In January alone, Facebook Inc. and Salesforce.com Inc. unveiled plans to hire 2,500 more people in Dublin. Hubspot Inc. is among Hibernia’s clients.

To contact the reporter on this story: Dara Doyle in Dublin at ddoyle1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Chad Thomas at cthomas16@bloomberg.net

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